How have females in urban youth subcultures been portrayed? How might this involvement be researched?
How have females in urban youth subcultures been portrayed? How might this involvement be researched? The portrayal of females in the sociology of youth, and particularly in the field of subcultural studies, has been characterised by the marginal positions to which girls have been relegated. Initial research into the white, working class gang of lads can be criticised for its failure to seriously consider female participation in subcultural activity. [see Campbell A. 1984; McRobbie A. & Garber K. 1976; McRobbie A. 1991] The male bonding, between researcher and researched, identifiable in a number of studies, indicates the acceptance of the stereotypical representations of females which emerged in the research dialogue. The categorisation of girls into such roles as the girlfriend or the 'lay' by the 'lads' [Willis P. 1977, p43] is exacerbated by the absence of any analysis of these comments. The complacency towards the treatment of girls as '..invisible, peripheral or stereotyped..' [Brake M. 1980, p137] in the field of subcultural studies has led to the genre being defined as '..a celebration of masculinity..' [Brake M. 1980, p137] The Subcultural Deficit The portrayal of girls in subcultural literature reflects the inadequate approach initially utilised in sociological studies of youth. Confining the definition of the subculture to that of a wholly male phenomenon
"Sociolinguistics" - Language Loss - Language Revival.
Abschlussarbeit Zum Sprachwissenschaftlichen Proseminar A "Sociolinguistics" SS 2003 Prof. Penz Language Loss - Language Revival Joachim Gruber Wiesengasse 3 8714 Kraubath 0111382 B 343 /295 4. Juli, 2003 Language Loss - Language Revival . Introduction 2. General questions 2.1 Ethnicity - Culture - Language 2.2 Pro and contra 2.3 "Russian, a language which has to be protected"? 3. Language Loss 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Five stages of language Loss 3.3 When is language loss not reversible anymore? 4. Language Revival 4.1 Forms of Language Revival 4.2 Hebrew 5. Bibliography . Introduction I must confess that this is actually the first time I followed a professor's advice to write the text's introduction at the very end of the work on the paper. Now I know that this is definitely the right way to do it, because this approach gives me the opportunity to give the recipient a guideline how to read the term paper, so to speak. The text starts with a section which could be seen as a rather bold experiment, especially for a student. Although there is a vast amount of secondary literature on the issue of language loss/revival available, I was unable to find a simple explanation for the correlations between language, culture and ethnicity. So I decided to "bite the bullet" and compose a short summary of the main points as well as a simple graph
Why are Raymond Williams' discussions around culture relevant to the area of media theory?
Danny Baker Why are Raymond Williams' discussions around culture relevant to the area of media theory? Raymond Williams (1921-1988) was a Marxist theorist who concentrated on setting up cultural frameworks in order to investigate his theories. His discussions broke away from the Marxist's focus on economics, believing that it inadequately accounted for contemporary culture, which he said was categorised by cultural exchanges. Williams developed the idea of 'cultural materialism' in a series of books including - "Culture and Society" (1958), "The Long Revolution" (1961), and "Marxism and Literature" (1977). Cultural Materialism relates to the 'Infrastructure', also known as the 'base structure', which according to Williams contained figures of authority such as the government and people at the heart of the economy, and the 'Superstructure', containing the more cultural aspects of life such as the arts, entertainment, and education. According to Williams the superstructure was determined by the infrastructure, or in other words the things that people do outside of work are determined by the base structure. This causes conflict and according to Williams this is what drives society on. Communication is fundamental and everybody is born with the desire to communicate, Williams believed. He placed more emphasis on the way that the infrastructure determines
Beth Heke, A Symbol of Maori Struggle In Once Were Warriors
Beth Heke, A Symbol of Maori Struggle In Once Were Warriors The struggle Beth Heke goes through to find strength in herself, is much like the Maori struggle to regain their culture. Beth, through an abusive relationship with her husband, Jake, finds her way back to the island she grew up on and her traditional Maori family. The Maori were in New Zealand for many years before British missionaries came there and took most of their own culture away from them. It could be argued that the struggle with an abusive husband is unlike the struggle with colonists and a colonial government. Beth, as a Maori and an abused wife, was doubly colonized. She had no one to support her leaving Jake. She left her culture, and accepted an abusive relationship. The Maori, however, fought as a large group. They formed "rebel groups" and even named a king of a rebel group to head their battle with British missionaries and colonists. On the surface, it would appear they are dissimilar experiences. On the surface. That is why I will dig deeper. The only decisions Jake Heke made involved himself. He decided to drink, fight, and ignore his children and wife. He decided to beat his wife into submission. The morning after a particularly terrible beating, Beth tells her daughter, Grace, "such is a woman's lot." She says this in reference to the terrible things a husband does, proving that she has been
In which ways does caste differ from class as a form of social hierarchy?
In which ways does caste differ from class as a form of social hierarchy? Social hierarchies are arguably inevitable in any civilisation. A hierarchy can be seen as a "multi-tiered" or "pyramid-like" structure, in which the centralisation of power can be located at its peak. All other groups below this pinnacle are subordinates. Comparing caste and class with one another in relation to the concept of social hierarchy is complex. The caste system is an expression of social stratification in the Indian sub-continent, which is characterised by social classes. Within these classes exist many endogamous, hereditary groups which are often referred to as jatis (castes) (from the BBC, religion and ethics - Hinduism). The system itself, however, is based on varnas, which represent the class structure and relate to one's profession. There a four primary varnas. The Brahmins, who dominate the top of class structure, hold jobs as priests, teachers and scholars. The Kshatriyas (kings and warriors), the Vaishyas (traders, merchants) and Shudras (agriculturalists and some artisan groups) make up the remaining varnas. The "untouchables" (now known as Dalits), who could be seen as the western equivalent of the right-wing term, "underclass" when contextualised to social class, as they are social outcastes and lack (Sociology: Themes and Perspectives A-Level student handbook). "Untouchable"
Gossip or The Rule of Law?
Qn7: Curbing Rebellion: Silent Whispers or the Lockup. Social behaviour is behaviour directed towards society, or taking place between, members of the same species. Social behaviour is followed by social action, which is directed at other people and is designed to induce a response. In a given society, every human being behaves in a manner befitting their set of beliefs and values. Thus, human behaviour must be controlled in order for members of a society to co-exist. Gossip, or the 'common artifice by which signed chain communications are forwarded,' enables the control of competing groups and individuals within a society (Brenneis 1984; Handelman 1973). The rule of law is that all authority is subject to, and constrained by, law (Mason 1995). No political system can escape the rule of men, for all political systems are created and run by men. At the same time, no political system is the result of the decisions of everyone within a society. Drawing references from different societies has enabled anthropologists to see first hand whether the rule of law or the more informal approach, is better at controlling human behaviour. Groups are defined as being composed of people who are interdependent, motives for control therefore matter in groups. Groups differ in entitativity, the degree to which they make a coherent whole, through principles of similarity, proximity and
In what ways does globalisation break down traditional cultural barriers?
. IN WHAT WAYS DOES GLOBALISATION BREAK DOWN TRADITIONAL CULTURAL BARRIERS? Student Number: 0304705 Module code: SE3102 Module title: Postmodernity II IN WHAT WAYS DOES GLOBALISATION BREAK DOWN TRADITIONAL CULTURAL BARRIERS? ILLUSTRATE YOUR ANSWER BY EXAMPLES TAKEN FROM TWO CULTURAL FIELDS Culture is moving around the globe at an alarming rate through, and as an effect of, many different media. Each nation's culture and identity is becoming increasingly merged and integrated with one another. Such changes are particularly representative of the postmodern and are significantly contributory in the argument that we are living in a postmodern world. Many theorists and writers have commented that the world is getting smaller with Marshall McLuhan using the phrase 'global village' (cited in Williams 2003: 66-7). Given how easy it is to sample another nation's cuisine, see another nation's film or to simply contact another nation, this compendium seems a feasible interpretation of the world in which we live. Two key terms which have been frequently used in debate are 'heterogenisation' and 'homogenisation'. The fear that the world will become a homogenized version of North American culture is the debate most prominent. This is, however, open to contestation in many ways. The cultural boundaries themselves are probably breaking down as access to another country's culture
Popular Music And Declining Culture: A Call For Accomodation.
Popular Music And Declining Culture: A Call For Accomodation Discussion Paper #7 Mass Communication Theory MMC 6401 Dr. Dardenne March 18, 2004 Jeffrey C. Neely The ideas behind high culture, social order, knowledge of familiarity versus formal knowledge, perceptions of our environment, maturity, and significance all center around one broad, yet inescapable foundation, truth. While it sounds trite and cliché to say that the human experience is validated through the quest for truth, it is nevertheless, I believe, the core underlying motivation in discussions of social commentary. The readings for this week spanned across a number of diverse topics, but also centered around a certain theme of social construction, or social evolution. In his essay, "Culture and Anarchy," Mathew Arnold emphasizes a connection between culture and governed social order. Arnold, who seems to have little objection to coming off as a priggish elitist, suggests that human survival, stability, and flourishing requires the defense of a cultural aristocracy who will protect the society from the infiltration of the Populace into politics, and thus anarchy and social destruction. Leavis takes up this challenge in his essay, "Mass Civilisation and Minority Culture" by advocating a return to specialization as opposed to standardization, and a persistence to communicate with future generations in
HOW ETHNOCENTRISM, RACISM, DISCRIMINATION, STEREOTYPING AND THE ACCULTURATION PROCESS ARE REPRESENTED IN MOVIES THAT PORTRAY INTERCULTURAL INTERACTIONS
HOW ETHNOCENTRISM, RACISM, DISCRIMINATION, STEREOTYPING AND THE ACCULTURATION PROCESS ARE REPRESENTED IN MOVIES THAT PORTRAY INTERCULTURAL INTERACTIONS. Intercultural communications is concerned with face-to-face communications between people from different cultural backgrounds. Ethnocentrism, racism, discrimination, stereotyping and acculturation are some of the phenomena that arise when intercultural communication takes place, each of which is further explained with sequences from the movies. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's culture is the centre of the world and thus considering all other cultures as being inferior. This natural phenomenon can be expected to arise where a contact is established between different ethnic, racial or linguistic groups. This is what happened when Europeans and other explorers started to move to faraway places and explore new worlds. They were directly confronted with cultural variations. People commonly feel that their own customary behaviour and attitudes are the correct ones; therefore, people who do not share such patterns are immoral or inferior. An example is seen from the movie The Mission where a Spanish Don is trying to convince the Cardinal, who is inspecting the work of missionaries with the Guarani people, how inferior and dangerous the Guarani are to the Spanish settlers, just because they are different. They are
Ortner/Orientalism
Department of Anthropology Victoria University DRAFT ESSAY - ORTNER/ORIENTALISM Orientalism is a discourse that Ortner shapes her article around. Though she defines the explanatory model as one of the average European that plays a minor role in her explanatory framework. Not something you'd expect an Anthropologist to spend a lot of time on explaining. Though however minor the discourse is, it is central to what I see as her primary goal, which is too display the continuing value of Geertz's conception of meaning as central to culture, and of Foucault's conception of power as central to culture, and more importantly how these two ideas can be used in unison to create cultural constructions of agency. I intend to make clear that though I agree with Ortner that Orientalism does play significant but minor role in the interpretation of culture through the eyes of Europeans, it is not confined solely to Europeans. I want to show that her concentration of what is involved inside the `box of agency', and straying off from what/how the box is constructed (of) narrows her argument. By way of this, I want to make it evident that Orientalism is in fact a universal phenomenon. The Box of Agency Model Agency [image001.gif] Factors influencing boxes' structure Ortner, in studying the relationship of the Sahib and Sherpa demonstrates how the conception of Orientalism